Monkeys in the Rainforests
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2006
1
96
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Trip End
Feb 28, 2007
Peurto Mcdonaldo,
Peru
Saturday, December 30, 2006
a. the amazing town of peurto macdonaldo!
! Tried to ignore the annoying greeks and concentrated on the scenery, didnt manage to spot much wildlife....but then you never do on the river!! Was all very pretty though. We arrived at the lodge around 2pm, where a lovely buffet lunch was waiting for us. We had to sit with the greeks, they all seemed to think we were part of their group, so after enjoying our lunch, we had to go and have a quiet word with the boss man of the place. Once we managed to get him to understand that we werent actually greek, he was quite understanding, and offered to swop our days around, so we wouldnt be stuck with them the whole time.....god were we glad. Its hard enough coping with spanish and english without greek as well!!!That sorted we went off to check out our Lodge....it was all very nice....luxury...just what you need in the scary rainforest!! Our lodge was the next to last one, was a fair walk but it was all so pretty we didnt care! The lodge was beautiful, really big....with a nice double bed, private bathroom, hammocks and even a seating area. God i was being spoiled!!
The afternoons activity was supposed to be Monkey Island, but since we had been awkward and requested everything be changed, we were scheduled to be going to visit a local family instead. This turned out to be quite fun.....nothing out of this world....but all very interesting
b. The boat ride to our lodge in the rainforest
. Our guide was fun too. First we sailed down the river in a rather more dodgy boat than the one we arrived in. Wasnt too far, before we spotted the family waiting for us....they all ran away when they saw us coming!! We got off and split into two groups, and were shown around the families land. They didnt have much, very basic accommodation, and land for farming. Our guide told us they could have more but they were lazy!! We were shown loads of cool plants, including one which our guide thought it was funny to turn into dye and paint our faces with!! We all looked very stupid! We then met the family who were trying to sell their handmade bead jewellery, and got to play with a huge bow and arrow. I was completely useless it was too big for my little hands....Neil hit the target first time!! Then it was time to head back to the lodge for the evening. The lodge had its own little bar, complete with table football, table tennis and chess! So we enjoyed a beer there before dinner. Dinner was at 7pm and was really good. Soup and then somekind of fish and rice and potatoes, followed by fruit for dessert. Felt a little like billy-no-mates, cause we didnt really belong to any group, but after seeing the greeks start singing at lunch, we didnt care that we were on our own!! After dinner we were informed we were going on another tour....a night tour to spot Caiman. Was the first we knew about it but werent complaining, except for the fact it was with the Greeks. The Boss man assured us it wouldnt be a problem, cause there was no speaking involved it was just looking, so we agreed
c. Bananas on our family visit
. We went out in the boat in the dark, armed with the biggest spotlight in the world ever. Was kinda cool to be out on the river at night. Our guide then proceeded to look for Caiman with his spotlight along the banks. Went for ages and saw nothing. Then he spotted a couple scurrying down the banks. They were very small and by the time we got close (the skills of the boatmen is amazing, they can move that boat anywhere you want as quick as a blink of an eye), they had gone in the water. We continued our search, but saw nothing. Personally i blame the greeks! They just couldnt shut up! We then turned off the engine and let the boat drift back to the lodge, supposedly to listen to the sounds of the jungle. Except the old greek women could not be quiet, they kept giggling like little girls! They clearly had no interest in any of it at all. Still it was cool to be out on the river under the stars and the brilliant moonlight. Managed to spot one more Caiman just near the lodge. This one was a bit bigger...should have got a good pic, but the flash wouldnt reload quick enough and all i got was his tail as he hurried into the water! Back at the lodge we managed to fit in another drink...a lovely cocktail, then headed off to bed at 10pm when we were kicked out of the bar. Apparantly lights go out at 10pm and by that they mean all lights, even the ones in your lodge as we discovered while using the bathroom before bed!!The next day we were off fishing....again not the normal schedule....but then we arent normal people! It was a reasonably early start....woken at 6:30, breakfast at 7, on the boat by 7:30. We woke that day to torrential rain.....if you ever wondered what its like to be in a rainforest in the rain.....let me tell you....its very wet!! We donned our raincoats and compulsory wellies and got in our boat....after the guide had bailed all the water out that is
d. Neil in disguise!
! The days activity was supposed to invlove a walk, but as it was raining, he said we wouldnt see anything, so we decided to go for a longer boat ride instead. The rain had eased a little by this point, which was good, but the amount of rain put down over night had made the river rise massively. We went across the main river, which took forever, because the high water and strong currents, and then headed down a smaller tributary. This was really fun, because it got a lot narrower, meaning the rainforest was a lot nearer and so you could see more stuff....it was also fun cause we kept having to duck the low branches and shrubs. The guy steering the boat really was amazing. The boats are wierd they have long movable rudder, which is such fun to watch and means they are really manoevable! It was fun. The rain cleared up....which was great cause it meant all the wildlife started to come out. We saw a huge group of squirrel monkeys playing in the trees which made Neil very happy and masses of birds. We then stopped to do a spot of fishing. Now fishing isnt my thing, but hey you gotta try these things. We were all issued with a stick, with a bit of fishing wire on the end, and a bit of beef. Apparantly it was how it was done here. So we all sat there with our sticks and nothing happened. We sat and sat and sat. Then we had success.....one of the blokes with us caught a pathetic little thing....which went straight back in the river! We sat some more and nothing else happened, so our guide decided to go deeper down the river, to hopefully have more luck
e. living in the rainforest
. So we had more fun, ducking and diving the trees, while our guide tried to hack them down with a machete!! We reached another spot and had another go at fishing. The fish seemed much more interested in the spider on my stick than the meat, and consequently we caught nothing. Some of the mad people on our boat decided to go for a swim, god knows why it wasnt even hot!! We stayed on the boat and watched the birds, well we tried......everyone jumped off one side of the boat, nearly tipping us all in! After their swim, we headed back. Seemed a long way, and when we got back we were all exhausted from all the fresh air...and starving! Managed to get a quick soda in before it was lunchtime. We sat with our new group, so didnt feel so left out. Food was good, we had rice and chicken wrapped and cooked in a banana leaf! Our bellies stuffed, we had an hour or so till our afternoon trip to Monkey Island. So we headed to our lodge to chill. I slept in the hammock, Neil read his book, before we knew it it was time for more adventures!Monkey Island was probably the highlight of our trip to the rainforest and there were some pretty good moments. We set off in the boat, it wasnt far, but when we got there, it had rained so much, the path was a river, so we had to sail further up the island to take the longer but hopefully drier one! Once on the island, we were told to make as much noise as possible in order to let the monkeys know we were there
f. Our luxury lodge
. Sounds strange i know, but the island is a project thing and the monkey are used to people. Our guide explained a bit as we walked about plants and stuff and before we knew it we had seen our first monkey. It was a little cheeky thing, who came down in search of bananas, after munching several, he then proceeded to help himself to the bag full of bananas before running away! He was very cute! We then went further into the island....and then the fun really began. Before we knew it we were surrounded by monkeys of all types. It really was amazing. They came so close....to get the bananas of course.....but they were hanging of the trees inches from us and swinging through the trees. The black spider monkeys were best. They are really cheeky. Our guide told us to be careful of them, not to let them to close, cause they grab you and can bite and scratch. They were funny, they kept getting real close, then running through the middle of us all. One bloke didnt heed the warning too well and got a little too close and before he knew it he had a monkey round his neck!!! It didnt want to let go either...was so funny to watch...the monkey had his hands over his eyes....eventually he did let go and go back to his tree. Did make us all very wary!! Must have spent an hour watching them, there were loads all running about the trees....words cant really describe how cool it was. Then we had to leave. Were sad to have to go. But we had to leave the monkeys in peace....having had their fill of bananas for one day!! (Apparantly folks....bet you didnt know this....bananas dont come from latin america
g. spot the caiman
! No i didnt know that either, apparantly they are from the Orient and have only been in the rainforests about 100years!)Back to the island, took forever as it was up river.....then we had the evening to chill out.
Decided to head for a dip in the pool, cause we were all hot and sweaty and we hadnt had chance to use it yet. Was really refreshing.....very cold, but just what we needed. Stayed in till we couldnt stand the cold any longer then we headed for a beer before dinner. The boss man was away for the day today and you could really tell. I guess they had to let him have New Years eve off.....i dont think they minded, it meant they could relax and take things easy. Dinner that night was chaos as they couldnt be bothered to serve it, but it tasted damn good, so no-one minded. We had soup and then a buffet style dinner, with the most amazing beef...dunno what it was but damn it was good! Puddings were a bit disappointing as it was all fruit, but then it is the rainforest!! After dinner we had time to kill. It was New Years Eve and we had been promised the lights would not go out till after 12. So we decided we may as well stay up, only problem was we were tired, well i was anyway! A strange woman from one of the groups we had been with decided we should all go out to see the stars in the boat again...for one last time....so we thought why not! It would kill some time before midnight
h. i love fishing i do
! It was seriously cool to be sitting in the middle of a river in the rainforest on New Years Eve, we didnt see any caimen though the water level was too high! Back at the lodge we enjoyed a few cocktails....yummy too....the cocktails were good. Our cocktail drinking got interrupted by the guides,....who were all sat drinking tonight with the boss away...."theres a Tapir in the grounds if you wanna go and look!" Obviously a common occurance then! Was really cool, a huge tapir wandering around the lodge, people were even petting it!! We took our photos before it disappeared into the rainforest! Apparantly they are endangered so seeing one was sooo cool. We chatted a little, but nothing was really happening, all very quiet, some people were outside...a few inside...certainly wasnt the most happening New Years Eve!! We played a game of pool and chess then headed outside to see what was happening there! Not much. There was huge group of Americans intent on making as much noise as possible at 12, they had champagne too. Didnt seem our thing.....so Neil suggested we finish our drink and head to our lodge to spend the new year together. Thought it was kinda sweet! We got back to our lodge just as it turned midnight, could hear the others screaming "Happy New Year" at each other. Was actually quite nice to spend a new year away from the noise and chaos...and spend it somewhere special....little did i know how special it was going to turn out to be! It turned out to be a night i wont forget......Neil asked me to marry him....and of course i said yes
i. The rainforest
! I couldnt believe it!! Was gobsmacked but very happy! I even got a ring....even if i had picked it myself....i didnt know what it was for!! Its really beautiful....black and white cubic Zirconia.....it only cost 4.50 pound (neil says i have to add that cos its funny) but hey its the thought that counts and it is really pretty!! I fell asleep that night a very happy girl!!The next day, we had a pretty early morning. Not as early as it could have been, it being a late one last night.....but early enough. I was in a good mood.....obviously.....couldnt take my eyes of my ring...and kept smiling. Wanted to tell everyone.....but sharing something like that with complete strangers seemed wrong. So i kept it to ourselves and kept smiling!
We had breaky then headed out for a long day in the rainforest. We got a boat a short way up the river and then it was into the deep jungle. I was a little apprehensive, afterall i hate bugs....but it turned out to be great. First we walked a short way, while our guide, the fun one we like, told us about various plants and stuff. We then got to a little lake, actually an Ox-bow lake, once part of the river apparantly. There we all piled into a little boat....very small and precarious.....and we drifted very slowly down the lake. It was amazing....so peaceful....and we saw loads of wildlife....mainly birds....but some really cool ones....like the Mawcaw that lives in a hollow tree and came out to see us
j. swimming in the river....are they mad?
! There were Vultures and other huge birds...sorry cant remember all their names!! We also saw turtles. It was an amazing experience, we were supposed to be rowing the boat, but no-one could be bothered it was all so relaxing, hence towards the end we had to row quite quickly as we were running out of time!! We eventually reached the end, and scrmbled out of the boat.....now deep in the rainforest...with more walking ahead of us. We walked, seeing more stuff mainly strange bugs, until we reached a clearing.....with a toilet!!!! Apparantly the lodge had built it....and were gonna build a new viewing tower....but we couls still climb the dodgy one!! Wasnt at all unsafe....yeah right! We volunteered to climb the tower first....stupid i know. It was wooden steps nailed to a tree, a very big tree, and a dodgy handrail. We started to climb, round and round, before hearing our guide shout..."mind the dodgy step", the dodgy step being a completely broken one, which if you had stood on it, you would have fallen to your death! Still we made it to the top, without any mishaps....was a long way....the last bit being decidely dodgy, we can see why they are building a new one! The view from the top was pretty cool, not the most amazing ive ever seen, cause all you could see was trees, but it was cool to be above the canopy! Took photos, took it all in, then climbed down, managing to avoid the dodgy step on the way down again! We then waited till everyone else had had their turn, in the boiling heat, was so humid....but then it is the rainforest
k. a boat on the river
. We then went off to find the lost lake. We were told we had to be silent all the way to the lake and on the lake, otherwise we wouldnt see anything. Was a long walk to find the lake, across boardwalks....was really cool, all swampy and wet.....was weird to be walking in silence too! We eventually reached the lake, was so beautiful. We got in another little boat, still in cmplete silence, while our guide paddled us silently around the lake. Was really wierd to be somehere deep in the rainforest in complete silence.....an amazing experience. We didnt manage to see that much, but it didnt matter! We did see lots of turtles...several very colourful birds and then just before we got out of the boat we got all close and personal with a caimen or two! We got out of the boat, said goodbye to the beautiful lake (maybe the most beautiful in the world? the best ive seen anyway!) and headed back to down the boardwalk in silence. Was really wierd finally being able to speak again when we reached the end! Keeping silent that long is just freaky! Our guide explained what we had seen....then we had to head back to the boat....only problem was it was a very long way and it was now dan hot in the jungle! Our guide frogmarched us through the mud back to the boat......6km at like a hundred miles an hour, in 100% humidity!! I may be exaggerating but it sure felt like it! It was quite a cool walk...saw spiders webs and numerous bugs along the way...oh and loads more birds! Think the problem was we started the day an our late so we had to rush back
l. neil in rainforest
. Eventually arrived back at the boat very hot and tired. Then it was back to the lodge for lunch. It had been an amazing morning......and were totally exhausted from all the excitement, heat and exercise....but we had to head straight for lunch when we got back. We were hungry so wolfed down our food and then headed for the swimming pool! Was very cold....but oh so lovely. We had opted to be lazy that afternoon and not take the optional botanical garden trail, but instead hang around the lodge...in the swimming pool! Had a great afternoon, chilling....it was a bit too cold in the pool afer awhile so we headed for a beer and a game of pool instead!
Eventually it was dinnertime.....the boss was back so it was all very professional again....the guides all had their shirts on...and we were waited on! Dinner was more fish.....was cool though, cause one of the lads had caught a fish and had it cooked for him.....the whole fish...and he was expected to eat all of it plus his dinner! We also had birthday cake as it was someones birthday! Then we hung out in the bar for our last evening....a little disappointed that we couldnt have cocktails cause the barman was off! We did make our fav guide make us cuba libras though, and it was funny to watch! We headed off to bed reasonably early...had been a busy few days and we had another early morning in the morning.
Next day we had to leave....had breakfast and was very sad to say goodbye to everyone....we had had an amazing time...and the people had all been fantastic. We all piled on the boat for the last time....the nice boat this time with a proper engine...and waved goodbye to everyone! It took forever to get back to town.....the water level had dropped again....so presumably it was quicker than it could have been. Saw lots of birds and a sloth on the way! Arrived in town, got a groovy bus to the airport, where all our tickets had been sorted for us....didnt even have to check in! Was wierd. Plane journey was quick and painless, we were there before we knew it. Said goodbye to all our new friends...including the english couple who had been on an organied tour for like a week and their tour guide still hadnt shown up...they werent at the airport either! Had to feel sorry for them, if id paid what they had paid id be a little peed off! Anyway that was it....our adventures in the rainforest were over. Had been the most amazing adventure.....its such an unusual experience!
